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x64 Support

Well, it’s been about six months since I bought my first ever x64 (64 bit) personal computer. At the time I figured I should "get with the times" and weenmyself of my long time interdependence on 32-bit processors. Now, here’s the thing, there is a very poor level of support for 64-bit software marketplace.

Seriously, poor. There is some half hearted support and indeed some vendors have gone to lengths to provide appropriate binaries and drivers, but the support is few and far between.

Take, for example, Microsoft’s Virtual Server 2005 R2 – which has a native 64-bit version (and, therefore kudos to them), but doesn’t support 64-bit guest OSes.. VMWare does, so the victory goes to VMWare?

Team Foundation Server – nope, no single tier for you. You can have a data tier (of a dual tier setup) – but only courtesy of the fact that SQL Server 2005 supports 64-bit architecture (the data tier is basically just a bunch of SQL databases).

Where is 64 support? Microsoft Vista has 64-bit support, but if you though 32-bit Vista was tough to find compatible drivers and software for.. imagine how rare it is to find anything that supports Vista 64-bit!

I guess 64-bit is a lot like IPv6.. It’s the next logical step, but until 32-bit can’t fully address the wants and needs of the existing consumer base, 64-bit will remain mostly dormant – like a roll out of IPv6, globally.

Interested in your thoughts..

About Rob Sanders

IT Professional and TOGAF 9 certified architect with nearly two decades of industry experience, 18 years in commercial software development and 11 years in IT consulting. Check out the
"About Rob" page for more information.

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